http://phys.org/space-news/earth-sciences/ en-us PhysOrg Team Phys.Org provides the latest news on earth science, astronomy and space exploration. Over the weekend of June 2 and 3, Typhoon Mawar skirted the east coast of the Philippines bringing heavy surf, heavy rainfall and gusty winds that led to several missing and injured people. NASA's TRMM satellite and Aqua satellite showed heavy rainfall and cloud extent of the storm. http://phys.org/news258050758.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-06-04T17:46:04-07:00 (AP) — A strong earthquake swayed tall buildings in Indonesia's capital Monday afternoon but caused no tsunami or apparent damage. http://phys.org/news258017993.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-06-04T08:40:02-07:00 The Colorado State University forecast team today slightly increased its predictions for the 2012 Atlantic basin hurricane season but still anticipates slightly below-average activity due to anomalous cooling of the tropical Atlantic and the potential development of an El Nino. http://phys.org/news258016373.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-06-04T08:15:40-07:00 (Phys.org) -- NASA's Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) 2010 hurricane study was a multi-aircraft mission with a large cadre of researchers. Two who were principal researchers on several airborne sensors had more in common than conducting atmospheric research. Gerry and Andy Heymsfield are brothers. http://phys.org/news258016307.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-06-04T08:11:57-07:00 (Phys.org) -- In cities, the presence of algae, lichens, and mosses is not considered desirable and they are often removed from roofs and walls. It is, however, totally unfair to consider these cryptogamic covers, as the flat growths are referred to in scientific terms, just a nuisance. http://phys.org/news258015537.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-06-04T07:59:21-07:00 (Phys.org) -- In just a few decades shrubs in the Arctic tundra have turned into trees as a result of the warming Arctic climate, creating patches of forest which, if replicated across the tundra, would significantly accelerate global warming. http://phys.org/news258015448.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-06-04T07:57:50-07:00 (Phys.org) -- Ah, June. It marks the end of school, the start of summer...and the official start of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, which got off to an early start in May with the formation of Tropical Storms Alberto and Beryl. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasters are calling for a near-normal hurricane season this year. But whether the season turns out to be wild or wimpy, understanding what makes these ferocious storms form and rapidly intensify is a continuing area of scientific research, and is the focus of the NASA-led Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) airborne mission that kicks off this summer. http://phys.org/news258015350.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-06-04T07:56:12-07:00 In the late eighth century, Earth was hit by a mystery blast of cosmic rays, according to a Japanese study that found a relic of the powerful event in cedar trees. http://phys.org/news258002715.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-06-04T04:25:27-07:00 The infrared instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite captured temperature data on Tropical Storm Mawar in the western North Pacific Ocean and showed that the cloud top temperatures were growing colder. That's an indication that the thunderstorms within are higher and stronger - a sign of strengthening. http://phys.org/news257797742.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-06-01T19:29:08-07:00 Beginning this summer and over the next several years, NASA will be sending unmanned aircraft dubbed "severe storm sentinels" above stormy skies to help researchers and forecasters uncover information about hurricane formation and intensity changes. http://phys.org/news257797656.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-06-01T19:27:46-07:00 It’s a wonder of nature, baby. Using information from data.gov, tech blogger John Nelson has created this spectacular image of tornado paths in the US over a 56 year period. The graphic categorizes the storms by F-scale with the brighter neon lines representing more violent storms. http://phys.org/news257780416.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-06-01T14:40:34-07:00 The erratic year-to-year swings in precipitation totals in the Reno-Tahoe area conjures up the word "drought" every couple of years, and this year is no exception. The Nevada State Climate Office at the University of Nevada, Reno, in conjunction with the Nevada Drought Response Committee, just announced a Stage 1 drought (moderate) for six counties and a Stage 2 drought (severe) for 11 counties. http://phys.org/news257771189.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-06-01T12:06:42-07:00 The current theory of continental drift provides a good model for understanding terrestrial processes through history. However, while plate tectonics is able to successfully shed light on processes up to 3 billion years ago, the theory isn't sufficient in explaining the dynamics of the earth and crust formation before that point and through to the earliest formation of planet, some 4.6 billion years ago. This is the conclusion of Tomas Naæraa of the Nordic Center for Earth Evolution at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, a part of the University of Copenhagen. His research is published in the latest issue of Nature. http://phys.org/news257767750.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-06-01T11:09:22-07:00 On Saturday, May 26, the German research vessel POSEIDON sailed from the port of Bergen, Norway, for an expedition to the Norwegian Sea. On board the newly developed ocean floor observatory, MoLab, is being taken to its first mission. The scientists will install MoLab on a cold water coral reef off the coast of northern Norway for a period of four months. http://phys.org/news257765211.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-06-01T10:26:56-07:00 Scientists at the Florida State University Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies (COAPS) have released their fourth annual Atlantic hurricane season forecast, using a unique computer model with a knack for predicting hurricanes with unprecedented accuracy. http://phys.org/news257762171.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-06-01T09:36:23-07:00 (Phys.org) -- This winter marks the 100th anniversary of the race to the South Pole. After crossing Antarctica-the coldest, windiest, driest continent on Earth-the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his team arrived at the geographic South Pole on Dec. 14, 1911, the first people in history to reach the bottom of the Earth. http://phys.org/news257759762.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-06-01T08:56:15-07:00 (AP) — A strong earthquake has hit eastern Indonesia. There are no immediate reports of damage or casualties. http://phys.org/news257743916.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-06-01T04:32:06-07:00 One idea for fighting global warming is to increase the amount of aerosols in the atmosphere, scattering incoming solar energy away from the Earth's surface. But scientists theorize that this solar geoengineering could have a side effect of whitening the sky during the day. New research from Carnegie's Ben Kravitz and Ken Caldeira indicates that blocking 2% of the sun's light would make the sky three-to-five times brighter, as well as whiter. Their work is published June 1st in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union. http://phys.org/news257681382.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-05-31T11:09:49-07:00 In the depths of the earth, it is anything but peaceful: large quantities of liquids carve their way through the rock as fluids, causing magma to form. A research team led by the University of Münster, has shown that the fluids flow a lot faster through solid rock than previously assumed. In the Chinese Tian Shan Mountains, fluids pushed their way to the earth's mantle from great depths in just 200 years rather than in the course of tens or even hundreds of thousands of years. http://phys.org/news257679409.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-05-31T10:50:01-07:00 (Phys.org) -- We're familiar with the theory that the Earth's crust is composed of tectonic plates that move, sometimes dramatically to create earthquakes and tsunamis - but until recently, nobody knew how long this movement has been going on. http://phys.org/news257674212.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-05-31T09:10:26-07:00 This image of the Whitewater-Baldy fire, in western New Mexico, was taken on Tuesday, May 29, 2012 at 2000 UTC (4:00 p.m. EDT) from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument that flies onboard NASA's Aqua satellite. http://phys.org/news257673778.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-05-31T09:03:04-07:00 Understanding the threat posed by unanticipated earthquakes in continental interiors is the focus of a new study led by the University of Cambridge. http://phys.org/news257671791.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-05-31T08:29:56-07:00 Peru is gearing up for a huge safety drill to see how Lima authorities respond to a cataclysmic 8-magnitude earthquake and tsunami, a devastating one-two punch they fear could claim 50,000 lives. http://phys.org/news257671301.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-05-31T08:21:49-07:00 Enormous volcanic eruptions with potential to end civilizations may have surprisingly short fuses, researchers have discovered. http://phys.org/news257609826.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-05-30T17:00:05-07:00 Some of the steepest mountain slopes in the world got that way because of the interplay between terrain uplift associated with plate tectonics and powerful streams cutting into hillsides, leading to erosion in the form of large landslides, new research shows. http://phys.org/news257607649.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-05-30T14:41:01-07:00 A fresh look at sedimentary evidence suggests the 900-930 AD rupture of the Seattle fault possibly produced a larger earthquake than previously recognized. The Seattle fault zone, a series of active-east-west trending thrust faults, poses seismic threat to the Puget Sound region. http://phys.org/news257603008.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-05-30T14:30:01-07:00 What happens when a handful of the world's largest oil fields— accounting for two-thirds of the world's oil—run dry? What are the implications of such a prospect for food production, economic growth and ultimately, global security? In his new book, Peeking at Peak Oil ( Springer, 2012) physicist Kjell Aleklett explores the science and consequences behind the sobering reality that the world's oil production is entering terminal decline with no satisfactory alternatives. http://phys.org/news257603115.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-05-30T13:25:29-07:00 Recent paleoseismic work has documented four surface-rupturing earthquakes that occurred across the Santa Cruz Mountains section of the San Andreas Fault (SAF) in the past 500 years. The research, conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, with assistance from the California Geological Survey, suggests an average recurrence rate of 125 years, indicating the seismic hazard for the area may be significantly higher than currently recognized. The observations help fill a gap in data on the seismic activity of the SAF in northern California, particularly south of San Francisco. http://phys.org/news257602925.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-05-30T13:22:31-07:00 Tropical Storm Beryl formed off the Carolina coast on Friday, May 25 as "System 94L" and later that day became the second tropical storm of the Atlantic Hurricane Season, before the season even started. Over the Memorial Day holiday weekend in the U.S. NASA and NOAA satellites kept track of Beryl, feeding forecasters with valuable data. http://phys.org/news257530974.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-05-29T17:23:45-07:00 Typhoon Sanvu had a bad weekend. It went from Typhoon status on May 25 to an extra-tropical storm and finally into a remnant low pressure area by May 29, 2012. http://phys.org/news257529686.html Space & Earth - Earth Sciences 2012-05-29T17:01:36-07:00